Recommended festivals in Shikoku for you to experience

Recommended festivals in Shikoku for you to experience

Shikoku is the smallest island among Japan’s four main islands, and it is located in the southwest of the island of Honshu.

The island is bordered by the waters of the Sto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai or Setouchi) and the Pacific Ocean.

The island is home to the prefectures of Tokushima, Ehime, Kagawa, and Kochi, with many traditional events and festivals being held throughout the year annually.

The prefectures in Shikoku also have many beautiful temples and shrines, and to give you more insights into it, we have listed four recommended festivals in Shikoku you should never miss!

Index : Recommended festivals in Shikoku for you to experience

1. Uwajima Ushioni Festival
2. Niihama Taiko Festival
3. Yosakoi Festival
4. Awa Odori

1. Uwajima Ushioni Festival 

Uwajima Ushioni Festival is a summer festival in Ehime, and the festival mainly features ushioni, a legendary monster who drives away ill fortune. The festival is held annually in Ehime from July 22 to July 24.

The first day of the festival is called the Uwajima Gaiya carnival, which involves many street stalls and a display of fireworks at the port.

The second day of the festival involves various parades of dancers and ushioni. On the third day, twenty ushioni are paraded through the main streets, accompanied by numerous children playing instruments.

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2. Niihama Taiko Festival

Niihama Taiko Festival is held in Niihama, Ehime, from October 16 to October 18 annually, and the festival is known for its luxurious “taikodai”.

Taikodai is a dashi decorated in gold and silver, and there are more than 50 dashi paradaed throughout the city. 

The main highlight of this festival is the Kakikurabe, a competitive performance where 150 men or more remove the wheels and lift the taikodai, which weighs around 2.5 tons in total.

Sometimes the men will hit the Taikodai together, and sometimes the visitors can get carried away by the performance, so you need to be careful when participating in this festival.

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3. Yosakoi Festival

Yosakoi is a traditional dance festival held annually in Kochi from August 9 to August 12, and it is one of the three Great Festivals in Shikoku, along with the Awa Odori in Tokushima and the Niihama Taiko Festival in Ehime.

Kochi is also the original home of the “Yosakoi Festivals”, which have become very popular all across Japan. Kochi’s Yosakoi Festival is also one of the Three Great Yosakoi Festivals of Japan, along with the Yosakoi Sasebo Festival in Sasebo, Nagasaki, and the Yosakoi Soran Festival in Sapporo, Hokkaido.

This attractive dance festival involves tons of people dancing while clapping naruko, a tool that was originally used to ward off harmful birds, and the choreography of the dances was based on some traditional Japanese dance moves, but as time goes by, many participants have added their touches to the music, choreography, costumes, and makeups.

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4. Awa Odori

It is no exaggeration to say that perhaps Awa Odori is the most popular festival in Tokushima Prefecture, and the festival lasts from August 12 to August 15 every year.

Awa Odori festivals are held in many places in Japan, but the dance originated in Tokushima. The festival attracts over 1,300,000 visitors every year, making it a large-scale event.

Performers of awa odori dance differently; women are more sensual and men are more dynamic using a fan, and the dance is performed with six traditional Japanese instruments. The festival is held near the JR Tokushima Station.

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